Chris Corkery

life story

My friend

Christopher Corkery and I met when we were in the fifth grade. Chris was bright, quick, and funny, and by the time we were classmates in high school, you could add “devilishly handsome” to that.

This photo of him is at a high school dance whose theme was Toga Party. We couldn't afford a DJ, so there was just a turntable, receiver, and speakers -- both of which blew out after about a half hour. Undeterred, Chris drove to his house, which was nearby, and he came back victorious with his own stereo speakers. I love this picture of him because this is what he was like to me: a proud Roman, a poet and statesman, a handsome hero.

I could try to parse out the things that Chris and I had in common, like a love of books and a shared sense of humor, as well as all the things that make "opposites attract" (I loved The Beatles, he preferred The Rolling Stones), but none of that would explain or describe what I felt whenever I was with Christopher: a magnetism that began the day I met him.

When I was a teenager, I relied on Christopher too much to be my one and only friend. He realized that long before I did. All the same, we never argued, we never fell out, we never raised our voices at each other.

One summer night after I'd graduated college and was working in Boston, I spent the weekend at my parents’ house in Rhode Island, and Chris and I had a great night out together in Providence, playing pool. In the parking lot, I waved so long to him, saying I’d see him in another week or so, at our fifth high school reunion.

That did not happen. Today, I’m very fortunate to live close to where I can visit my friend whenever I wish. I do so often.

There are only a couple of people in my life today who remember what Chris and I were like when we were together. I'm glad that people remember, and I consider myself lucky to have had my time with Chris.

Christopher was my prince. I loved him very much.

The End of the Party

For most of my K-12 education, I was a kid who pretty much stuck to the assigned reading: It didn't really occur to me that I could or would even want to read books that weren't on the school syllabi. Having Chris in my life changed that because he loved books and reading, and in late high school, he encouraged me to read things like "The Stranger" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." One day, he asked me if 'd ever read the short story "The End of the Party" by Graham Greene, and when I said No, he told me that it was about two young boys and that they reminded him of us. I looked up the story in the library and read it. The two young boys, Peter and Francis, are twins: Francis has an anxiety disorder, and his twin Peter is very protective of his brother. The story has a tragic ending, but it's touching to think of Christopher identifying us with a pair of identical twins. That's very much how I felt, being with him.